A cobpobation



F. C. NICHOLSON.

YARN FEEDING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHiNES.

APPLICATION FILED mme, 1919.

Patented July 6, 1920.

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mila/m14 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED C. NICHOLSON, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR TO SCOTT AND WILLIAMS, INCORPORATED, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1920.

Application tiled January 6, 1919. Serial No. 269,852.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, Fnac C. NiouoLsoN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of Chattanoo a, in thc county of Hamilton and State of ennessee, and whose post-office address is care of Scott and W'illianls, Incorporated, 366 Broadway, New York city, New York, have invented certain new and useful Imgovements in Yarn- Feeding Means for nitting Ma chines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to knitting machines in Which pivoted yarn feeding fingers cooperate with the needles to supply yarn to the latter, and the object of my invention 1s to provide means whereby the yarn shall be taken by the desired needles with greater certainty. This is especially useful at the beginning of a knitting operation, as for example, at the beginning of knitting the body of a stockingI on to a transferred rib top. 4This object accomplish by so constructing and operating the yarn-feeding finger as that it can be adjusted toward and away from the line of needles. In a beginning knitting operation, I provide means automatically to move it up to the line of needles at the appropriate time, and move it away again out of action, when desired, without danger of the finger colliding with the tops of any needles, when the finger is swung on its pivot.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of sufficient of a circular knitting machine to illustrate my invention as applied to a ribtop transfer machine;

Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrams, showing a yarn-feeding finger in different positions;

F ig. 4 is a perspective view.

In the drawing I have illustrated my invention as applied to a circular knitting machine of the general type disclosed in the Scott Patents 1,150,547 and 1,150,549, dated August 17, 1915.

In the construction illustrated, there is a rotary needle cylinder 260 with needles n controlled by any suitable stitch cams which are 'mounted on the segment 370. Over the top of the needles is a latch ring 550 pivoted on a cross pin 552 on a fixed standard 401 of the frame of the machine.

lThe yarn feeding fingers F are pivoted on a pin 554 mounted in the arched portion 555 65 of the latch ring. The forward ends of these fingers which are provided with guide holes for the yarn adjacent to the needles are drawn down (when permitted by their thrust bars) to the active or feeding posit1on by splral springs f, each of which may be connected at one end to a hook on a pivoted finger F and at the other end to the cross pin 552. To lift each yarn finger F upwardly on its pivot from its active feeding posltlon, a thrust bar 460 is employed, this thrust bar being operated at the appropriate time by a caln on a rotary drum 120,

in the known Way.

When a rib top is transferred to a knittlng machine to begin the plain knitting of the leg'of a stocking, for example, it is especiallyl lmportant, (as indeed it is at other knitting operations), to make sure that the yarn from the yarn finger F shall be fed to and taken by the desired needles without failure, and Without danger of pressing off the stitches on the needles. In the Scott Patent 1,150,549, above mentioned, means are provided for automatically pushing certain needles outwardly toward the appropriate yarn-feeding finger F for that purpose.

According to the present invention, I provide in a simple way for bringing the outer end of a yarn-feeding finger as close to the line of needles as may be desired, and thereby I am enabled to insure the feed of the yarn to the desired needles, even at a beginning knitting operation, such as knitting the body of a stocking onto a trans` ferred rib top. For this purpose I so construct the pivotal mounting of the desired yarn-finger F that as the yarn feeding end descends to its lowest position or when it has reached that position, its forward end may be moved over toward the line of needies, that is to say, in a direction substantially at right angles to the length of the needles.

For this purpose I may make the pivotal opening in the yarn-finger for the passage of the pivot pin 554 in the form of a slot 8. And I provide means for moving the finger over in a horizontal direction toward 105 the line of needles at or toward the end of the descending movement of the yarn feeding end of the finger. This may be accomplishetl automatically by the action of a suital. thi-ust bar 400", other than the ones which lift ille yarn lingers. A lever T01, pivotccl at (310 to a bracket on the latch ring 550, extends backwardly past the arch 555, -nui if; there provided with a cam-like projecifm, T00 in a position to act upon the rear wid nl the yarn finger F. This lever lT01 is provided between its pivot .and i ts acting end with a laterally projecting pm 707 in Aposition to be acted on by the upper end of a thrust bar 400c in a manner simllar to that described for the like bar in the above mentioned Scott Patent No. 1,150,549 for the lever. This pin 707 is made ad]ust able hy being mounted eocentrieally ona rvlindrical plug 705` rotarily adjustable 1n ai bore in the lever 701 and secured 1n adjusted position by a set screw 706. The operation of the parts 1s so timed that when the thrust bar 460, which has tl1e-duty to raise this yarn finger F on its pivot, descends and allows the yarn-carrylng end of the finger to descend under the .action of gravity and its springff, lndlca'ted in Fig. 2, the bar 460 will rise and lift the lever 701 so as to `cause the projection 700 on the rear end of this lever to press the varn finger forward in a horizontal' direction toward the needles, as indlcated 1n Fig. 3, and bring it as close as may be necessary to insure the yarn engaging the appropriate needles. When the thrust bar 460C descends again, and allows the rear end of the lever T01 to drop, the s ring f will draw the yarn guide F away rom the line of needles, so that when thereafter, this yarn finger is raised again on lts plvot by the rise of its thrust liar 460, the yarn finger will not collide with the needles which may have been less elevated for any purpose in the knitting operation.

While my described invention is thus particularly useful for securing the proper feeding of' the yarn to certain needles at a set up or beginnin knittin operation, as explained, it is use .ul for ot er knittingr operations.

I claim as my invention:

1. A knitting machine having needles and operating means therefor in combination with a yarn finger having a Slotted pivotal mounting, adjustable means to move the finger over toward the line of' needles on the descent of the finger, and a spring to withdraw the finger, as it is raised.

2. A knitting machine having needles and operating means therefor in combination with a pivoted varn finger and means acting on the rear o said finger to move it over toward the line of needles on the descent of the finger to the feeding position, and means to move it away from the line of needles again, when the finger is raised.

3. A knitting machine having needles and operating means therefor in combination with a pivoted arn finger and means acting on the rear ofysaid finger to move it over toward the line of needles on the descent of the finger to the feeding position and a spring to withdraw the finger from the needle line.

In testimony whereof I have name to this specification.

FRED C. NICHOLSON.

signed my 

